2018 Friends Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[LegoMyMamma]

1 hour ago, FortNerd said:

Did Lego ever release a male Friends character in formalwear? Is there a chance one would be released in the next wave? I could really use one for my MOC idea, but currently the best thing available is Mia's tux from 41001.

Could possibly use David from Heartlake City Airport 41109 (Summer 2015) as formal attire.

Nate's bellhop uniform is formal, yet is dark red (Heartlake Grand Hotel).

[JimBrick]

On 25/10/2017 at 12:32 AM, cebelicamya said:

How did you see that from the preliminary pictures? ?When the preliminary pics came out I saved them on my ipad and they are all blurry, i can recognize the buildings but when i zoom in, can't really see the small pieces very clear. You have a good eye or I don't have the same pictures. ? Would love to see those! From your description flowerbeds and leaf part sound really cool.

 

Heyyyy u have those pictures? 

If so please send them to me cause i want to see them and i cant find them anywhere ? even if they are blurry ?

[Digger of Bricks]

On 10/26/2017 at 3:39 PM, Lego-fire said:

Wasn't there a Friends game and TV show? They must have cheated with the animation then 

Well of course they did, as they do with nearly all TV show and TT (Traveler's Tale) game animations. The cinematic movies (The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie) on the other hand, work within the confines of a faux stop motion animation style, though the latter two movies did cheat to a degree. For instance, TLM's figure animation did not allow their solid plastic components to bend or flex fluidly, and kept their motions limited to as far as joints would allow them to move. The TLBM and TLNM on the other hand, completely disregarded the figures' jointed limitations, and made a few exceptions in the solidity of some otherwise static plastic parts (e.g. Batman's cowl). 

For continuity's sake, I hope that 2019's sequel to TLM retains the animation style seen in the original film, unlike its two spinoff movies. But, if minidolls are to possibly appear in the sequel, perhaps they would have to adopt the spinoffs animation methodology. 

[Soupperson1]

On 28/10/2017 at 4:27 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

Well of course they did, as they do with nearly all TV show and TT (Traveler's Tale) game animations. The cinematic movies (The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie) on the other hand, work within the confines of a faux stop motion animation style, though the latter two movies did cheat to a degree. For instance, TLM's figure animation did not allow their solid plastic components to bend or flex fluidly, and kept their motions limited to as far as joints would allow them to move. The TLBM and TLNM on the other hand, completely disregarded the figures' jointed limitations, and made a few exceptions in the solidity of some otherwise static plastic parts (e.g. Batman's cowl). 

For continuity's sake, I hope that 2019's sequel to TLM retains the animation style seen in the original film, unlike its two spinoff movies. But, if minidolls are to possibly appear in the sequel, perhaps they would have to adopt the spinoffs animation methodology. 

Unless next year Friends has a different mini doll style to the Disney Princess, 2018 looks to use the same moulds.

[Lordofdragonss]

And first pictures are here - of Juniors set but they confirm we are getting a REBOOT:
I am glad that we are getting new head with glasses and animals prints - the previous rabbit was ugly
Of and a PEN piece!

Edited November 10, 2017 by Lordofdragonss

[cebelicamya]

@Lordofdragonss thanks for the pictures!

 Junior  sets are really great, smothie car is just so adorable and in nice colors, thank god not in pink, it can fit right in any city setting. The new leaf ?  piece is also great and brown baby rabbits can now have a mother, he he. The second set is ok, it feels like a rehesh of some older set. Love love the new plain head colors, will buy them for my monochrome collection! Oh and I just realized there is a new art of friends in the right corner. So I wonder if we will get new hait pieces because of a different hair styles on the art? 

2 hours ago, Lordofdragonss said:

And first pictures are here - of Juniors set but they confirm we are getting a REBOOT:
I am glad that we are getting new head with glasses and animals prints - the previous rabbit was ugly
Of and a PEN piece!

 

 

Edited November 10, 2017 by cebelicamya

[Elf Gal]

I'm kind of freaking out right now!  They redesigned the friends!!!  Emma with brown eyes and Mia with green eyes . . . I can't wait to see how the others look.  It kind of gives you a hint in the artwork and Olivia has glasses!  Wow, I'm so excited.

I need some people's opinions on this, do you think that Emma looks Asian?  And do you think Olivia is supposed to be Latina, or is she just very tanned?

Based on the artwork, Emma, Andrea, and Olivia have brown eyes (which makes sense since brown is the most common eye color) Mia has green, and Stephanie still has blue eyes.  So we will at least be getting four new heads for Andrea, Mia, and Emma, and also Olivia because of her glasses.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Elf Gal

[sousmarineuse]

I really like leaf, pen and brown rabbit! 

But no idea about figs. Maybe an evolution in artwork, something like Netflix elves. With no real big transformation in the sets? 

But glasses would be so cool?! 

[AyliffeMakit]

A Friends reboot? Is this now Friends G2? Will there be connection theories between the two canons? Is there gonna be a Friends version of Greg Farshtey who'll continue to write bizarre lore for the original friends universe for years to come?!?

 

(In all seriousness though, I really like the theme for it's sets so whatever it takes to keep the thing going for another 10-15 years is fine by me innit)

[Soupperson1]

I didn’t think the reboot would be this big!

While I’m all for diversity, I think it’s odd that the protagonist would go under the biggest changes. It is a tad annoying that Olivia who has the most family has gone through the change, as Peter, Anna, Sophie and Ola will have to follow? I like the addition of giving her glasses though! I would’ve preferred if it was Stephanie, but I’ll take what I can get.

Emma’s race change seems like a missed opportunity, her eyes should be more creased. It just looks off, but that could just be the pictures.

Andrea is what she should’ve been in the first place. Her skin actually looks the same color as her mini doll for once! Plus her braids and brown eyes are surly more relevant with the target audiences.

I’m not too hot on giving Mia green eyes, as nearly every female red head has blue or green eyes. Not to mention Emily already has a similar face... I do find it weird they didn’t tak this opportunity to give her ginger hair, rather than that weird red colour.

Stephanie doesn’t seem to have any notable changes, besides better hair. 

I’m still upset they don’t have a male friend, this would’ve been a great time to add one. Oh well, they don’t seem to be missing any major female minorities now at least  ;P

_________

I do find it annoying they didn’t cease this opportunity and totally upgrade the mini doll. We could’ve got wrist and leg joints, but no! It doesn’t seem they’re upping the numbers of characters in sets either too. :/ On the other hand I like how they can be displayed alongside the existing mini dolls, except the five main friends of course. It’s high time we get a load of new face prints, torsos and hair pieces! 

Theres quite a fair number of new pieces and re colors in these sets which always welcome. I wonder will this encourage people to dive back into this theme. I’m certainly excited to revisit it! 

[Elf Gal]

39 minutes ago, Soupperson1 said:

Emma’s race change seems like a missed opportunity, her eyes should be more creased. It just looks off, but that could just be the pictures.

Exactly, that's why I wasn't sure if she was supposed to be Asian or not, but it seems like that was the intention.

I completely agree about Andrea!

With Mia and the green eyes . . . isn't it better to be more accurate if most redheads have either green or blue eyes?

I guess because Olivia is the "smart one" the stereotype would be to give her glasses.

I'm glad the minidolls weren't changed because then I'd have to collect them all over again.  I like them to be the same.

 

[Aanchir]

17 hours ago, Soupperson1 said:

I do find it annoying they didn’t cease this opportunity and totally upgrade the mini doll. We could’ve got wrist and leg joints, but no! It doesn’t seem they’re upping the numbers of characters in sets either too. :/ On the other hand I like how they can be displayed alongside the existing mini dolls, except the five main friends of course. It’s high time we get a load of new face prints, torsos and hair pieces!

I feel like if LEGO could have done independent leg articulation and wrist articulation for the mini-doll, they would've done so in the first place. They definitely tested arms with articulated wrists like the minifigure has, but most of the girls they tested it with didn't like the wider proportions and cuff-like wrist. As far as legs go, I'm not sure a really sturdy individual leg connection could've been achieved without making the hips considerably wider. Just compare the width of the hips on a minifigure skeleton with the width of the hips on a mini-doll. As much as I like the idea of a "mini-doll 2.0", I'm not sure if it's really feasible without throwing off the proportions.

I'm really fond of the character redesigns, to be honest! The characters retain a lot of their most iconic characteristics, but they now feel more varied and realistic. It's peculiar that Mia still has the same Dark Red hair as she's always had in the Juniors set. It'll be strange if her hair color doesn't match her character illustrations in the main-series Friends sets.

[Soupperson1]

45 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

I feel like if LEGO could have done independent leg articulation and wrist articulation for the mini-doll, they would've done so in the first place. They definitely tested arms with articulated wrists like the minifigure has, but most of the girls they tested it with didn't like the wider proportions and cuff-like wrist. As far as legs go, I'm not sure a really sturdy individual leg connection could've been achieved without making the hips considerably wider. Just compare the width of the hips on a minifigure skeleton with the width of the hips on a mini-doll. As much as I like the idea of a "mini-doll 2.0", I'm not sure if it's really feasible without throwing off the proportions.

I'm really fond of the character redesigns, to be honest! The characters retain a lot of their most iconic characteristics, but they now feel more varied and realistic. It's peculiar that Mia still has the same Dark Red hair as she's always had in the Juniors set. It'll be strange if her hair color doesn't match her character illustrations in the main-series Friends sets.

I thought they could’ve been continual looking for a solution to the articulated wrists since the mini doll release in 2012, obviously they weren’t or still haven’t found a solution. Don’t mega blocks figures have similar leg proportions and achieve leg articulation? I think the main problem with leg articulation for mini dolls, is it would be confusing to kids that all leg pieces would move at different joints. I know the Minifigures have short legs and dresses, but I think added joints in different sections to regular leg pieces would be so much more confusing for kids.

I don’t think there was anything unrealistic about the girls in the past. :P Perhaps Andrea’s eyes being brown over green would be more relevant but it’s certainly not impossible for a dark skinned girl to have light eyes. If they were truly going for real life accuracy, I don’t think they’d be dressed the way they are if they’re seventeen! I can’t imagine the Juniors Mia having different hair to the normal one, but that doesn’t make it any less peculiar. Additionally Mia’s ponytail has bangs or a fringe in the image and that’s absent too!

 

[Aanchir]

3 hours ago, Soupperson1 said:

I don’t think there was anything unrealistic about the girls in the past. :P Perhaps Andrea’s eyes being brown over green would be more relevant but it’s certainly not impossible for a dark skinned girl to have light eyes. If they were truly going for real life accuracy, I don’t think they’d be dressed the way they are if they’re seventeen! I can’t imagine the Juniors Mia having different hair to the normal one, but that doesn’t make it any less peculiar. Additionally Mia’s ponytail has bangs or a fringe in the image and that’s absent too!

I think previously a lot of the designs were trying to be more racially ambiguous, but at times at the expense of realism. They also had a serious case of "same face syndrome". Andrea's facial features in particular now make her more recognizably black. Emma's race is still ambiguous but the theory I've seen before that she may be Asian or Hispanic feels more plausible with her new, darker eye color. And I feel like girls in the LEGO Friends target audience will probably be able to relate better to Mia with her new orangish hair than with the deep red that she had before.

I always figured the LEGO Friends girls were somewhere between the ages of 14 and 16. 16 is the youngest that they could have a driver's license or sport pilot certificate in the United States, but that might be a place where LEGO Friends just chooses to diverge from reality for the sake of playability.

The main reason I figure that the Juniors version of Mia might be different than the new version is that the first two Ninjago-themed Juniors sets reused some of their older costumes instead of the current ones. So it might be the same way with these sets' hair pieces.

[Koori]

A reboot might be a good thing, now there will be a bit more variety in the mini dolls.

 

[Soupperson1]

I can’t tell if Olivia’s supposed to have nougat or medium nougat skin from the polybag leaks. She has a new hair piece though! Stephanie doesn’t :( But she has a new face for some reason. They both have new outfits so it looks like we’re going to get more new legs and torsos than ever before!

On another note when Friends was first introduced we had a lot of secondary characters introduce to populate our city, why isn’t this wave doing the same? We still need to get a nouguat boy, girl without glasses and adults... Not to mention we still don’t have a grey or hazel eyed face. Speaking of men it looks like they might have got rid of the small nose boy faces and replaced them with the larger nose ones. :/

On the bright side I’ve see a lot of animal leaks! There’s a lot that’s new this year! A white cat with black and light brown spots. There’s two dual mounded birds (same Mould as Goldie), ones pink and amber the others sand blue and dark blue.

On 11/11/2017 at 9:28 PM, Aanchir said:

I always figured the LEGO Friends girls were somewhere between the ages of 14 and 16. 16 is the youngest that they could have a driver's license or sport pilot certificate in the United States, but that might be a place where LEGO Friends just chooses to diverge from reality for the sake of playability.

The main reason I figure that the Juniors version of Mia might be different than the new version is that the first two Ninjago-themed Juniors sets reused some of their older costumes instead of the current ones. So it might be the same way with these sets' hair pieces.

During the pop star days they were shown wearing bracelets that red “seventeen”. At New York toy fair in 2013 the LEGO correspondent said it was the summer before they’re last year in high school. It seems much more likely to me they’re sixteen at least.

I think if she did had a new hairpiece they wouldv’e put it in Juniors, it would be like if one of the NINJAGO characters had a color change and the used the old one. 

[cebelicamya]

@Soupperson1 where did you find animals? Do you have pictures? 

With all of these pictures coming out i am more and more convinced that there are no new hairpieces but just rework of artwork on boxes. I was so exited for new hair pieces

Edited November 16, 2017 by cebelicamya

[Fifulin]

All the sets sound good

Edited November 16, 2017 by Fifulin

[Soupperson1]

12 hours ago, cebelicamya said:

@Soupperson1 where did you find animals? Do you have pictures? 

With all of these pictures coming out i am more and more convinced that there are no new hairpieces but just rework of artwork on boxes. I was so exited for new hair pieces

I’m pretty sure Andrea and Olivia definitely have new hairpieces. It’s a huge shame Mia’s didn’t change color. :/ Do people even like Stephanie’s hairpiece? I’m shocked it’s still around tbh. 

I can’t share the images of the animals, sorry. You can find them on the Chinese equivalent to eBay, but it’s impossible to look aroud it. :/ Just take my word for it ?

[Elf Gal]

There's a new character Daniel in the set with Mia's Treehouse who has brown hair in a style similar to Farran from Lego Elves.  I'm glad they are at least including one boy as a minor character because they often neglect the boys.  The treehouse itself is okay I guess . . . . it has a door in it though which strikes me as odd for a treehouse, but anyway.

It's hard to see it, but Emma's art truck looks like an interesting set with an easel.  I like to draw so I think it's cool that they dedicated a set to art.  They have new clothing pieces!  I actually think the reboot was a really good idea.  They kept enough elements the same (i.e. their names) but still were able to change their appearances without making the change too overwhelming.

[cebelicamya]

On 11/18/2017 at 6:51 PM, Elf Gal said:

There's a new character Daniel in the set with Mia's Treehouse who has brown hair in a style similar to Farran from Lego Elves.  I'm glad they are at least including one boy as a minor character because they often neglect the boys.  The treehouse itself is okay I guess . . . . it has a door in it though which strikes me as odd for a treehouse, but anyway.

It's hard to see it, but Emma's art truck looks like an interesting set with an easel.  I like to draw so I think it's cool that they dedicated a set to art.  They have new clothing pieces!  I actually think the reboot was a really good idea.  They kept enough elements the same (i.e. their names) but still were able to change their appearances without making the change too overwhelming.

Where can i find treehouse pictures?

 

with nexo knights, ninjago, batman movie and creator pictures out i was hoping we would see some official ones, but no luck. I wonder when we will see them.

[Lyichir]

The Brick Fan has finalized pics of next year's Friends sets!

A lot of really neat stuff!

[cebelicamya]

5 hours ago, Lyichir said:

The Brick Fan has finalized pics of next year's Friends sets!

A lot of really neat stuff!

Thanx, they are really awesome. New hair pieces for Olivia and Andrea.

[Redhead1982]

Thanks for the link. There seems to be many interesting parts and recolors. I will definitely get some sets for the parts alone. There's three different flower/plant parts. The green leaf is great, it's new. I'm not sure about the "flower" studs. The colour selection (orange, red, magenta, lavender, white) is nice, but I'm not convinced (yet) with how they look like. I wonder why the TLG didn't bring back the flowers from the first Friends sets in other colours. Those were more realistic and would be great to have in other colors.

On a side note, is it just me or the box art of 41327 doesn't match the contents. I'm looking at the red flower in a glass dome. It looks different in the two pictures, definitely not like stud flowers. I just noticed this flower piece appears in the Art cafe too. 

Edited November 21, 2017 by Redhead1982
Typo

[Fifulin]

I might just pretend this new Olivia is the real Olivia's sister XD